the end of it as we know it.......QUESTION

[momofmany38]

I have a BIG question.......I read in the bible that when the end of time comes, that mothers of small babies ....I can't remember how it goes exactly because I can't find it again........but it said something about that they have *basically* a reason to worry.....WHY???? can someone explain this to me????

[RoadRunner]

I'm working on this one. All of my books are at home though.

[momofmany38]

Thanks!!!

[RoadRunner]

OK, this is basically what I read--I'm not an expert on it.

The passages you are referring to are from Matthew 24:15-22
15 "Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains;
17 let him who is on the housetop not go down to get the things out that are in his house;
18 and let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak.
19 "But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days!
20 "But pray that your flight may not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath;
21 for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall.
22 "And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short.You can find similar passages in Mark 13:17 and Luke 21:23.

This refers to the time of the great tribulation (second 3.5 years of the tribulation) when Jews will flee Judea and go into the mountains. Because they will refuse to worship him and especially because they belong to God, the Antichrist will also unleash exceptional fury against those who came to believe in Jesus during the last days.

John MacArthur's Commentary on Matthew 24-28Basically, if you are someone who believes in a pre-tribulation rapture, you believe that Christians will be raptured prior to the tribulation. During the tribulation, some people will become followers of Jesus. Those people will be fleeing the wrath of the Antichrist. The image He is painting here is that you won't even want to go grab anything out of your house. You'll just want to flee.

The terrors that the Antichrist will unleash will be especially frightening to pregnant women who fear for their unborn children and mothers of newborns who are still nursing. Why? It is harder to flee with children or when you are pregnant. You fear for the life of your child, and the Antichrist is so wicked that he would not think twice about doing awful things to his enemies.

I think what Jesus is saying here is that the Antichrist is so awful, he won't even think twice about hurting small children and pregnant women--easily the most defenseless of people, along with the elderly.

Jesus is expressing compassion for mothers in such a situation. He says, ""But pray that your flight may not be in the winter," because it is harder to flee in such times. He is also expressing compassion by warning us. He is telling unbelievers to put their faith in Him now before the tribulation begins. Jesus is warning us to believe and believe now so that we don't have to endure any of this.

[momofmany38]

Thank you RR.....that is the passage that I was talking about......and thank for the explanation.....i understand now......

i find the bible VERY confusing at times......there are ALOT of questions......but it is just a matter of finding them and asking......so agian, THANK YOU

[keithster]

momofmany38,

This has probably been in another thread someplace...

Have you read the Left Behind series? From what I can gather, it does an interesting job of explaining the tribulation.

There is controversy about the Biblical accuracy of the stories.

Can anyone shed light on this?

[RoadRunner]

I haven't read the series, so I can't comment on it directly. I wouldn't go with fiction to gain a better understanding of end-times theology though. I'd find a good commentary by a conservative Biblical scholar.

If you want the pre-tribulation view, go with a book by John MacArthur or anything by Walvoord or Zuck. Those last two guys hail from Dallas Theological Seminary and wrote/edited a "The Bible Knowledge Commentary." According to what I've read, Dallas Theologic Seminary is very conservative and pre-trib.

If you want a different but also veryconservative viewpoint, read something by R. C. Sproul. He is not pre-trib.

[jamesglewisf]

If you want something really helpful, go to http://www.songofsolomon.com/products.htm and get Tom Nelson's book called "The Big Picture." It is an overview of the entire Bible in an easy-to-read format.

[jamesglewisf]

And yes, Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) is very conservative and pre-trib.

You can find books at www.christianbook.com.

[keithster]

The Left Behind books are great reading. They can't make them fast enough for me.

The debate over Biblical accuracy has even found its way into the comments at amazon.com.